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The first time Pidge finds a mysterious piece of paper stuck in the door of her wardrobe, it's when she returns from her combat practice in the training room of the castle.
Intrigued, she takes the word and unfolds it.
1011001 – 1001111 – 1010101 ' 1010010 – 1000101
1000100 – 1001111 – 1001001 – 100110 – 1000111
1000001 – 1001101 – 1000001 – 1011010 - 1001001 – 100110 – 1000111
1010011 – 1010111 – 1000101 – 1000101 – 1010100 – 1001001 – 1000101
The writing, although it is only binary numbers, was slightly shaky. On the last line, she had the impression that the numbers 1 and 0 had been written at full speed.
She also noticed that a small face with a stupid smile and a tuft of hair on her skull was drawn in the lower right corner, right next to her thumb. Lance.
Pidge was tired of her fight against the gladiator she had narrowly won. She just wanted to take a hot shower because she was sweating like an ox -and she also wanted to relax, but her brain was still running at full speed. She had no trouble deciphering it with a little sentence like this :
“You're doing amazing, sweetie.”
Pidge sneered as she remembered the famous meme who roamed the internet while still on Earth and thought distractedly that it was adorable and silly at the same time.
However, lots of questions came to mind ; How did he learn to write in binary numbers ? Had Hunk helped him ? Why did he give him a word instead of telling him in person ? Besides, why did he tell her that ? Had he seen her kicking the gladiator's ass ? And if so, had he thought about it at the same time ? Did he want to congratulate her for her efforts ?
No, more important : Lance made an effort to get involved in what she loved. Especially since he always had a little trouble understanding her scientific jargon and he was doing his best to follow what she explained during their missions. And for her, the girl who adored machines and computers much more than the normal things of average people, that meant a lot.
With a last laugh, she shook her head to get rid of the loving fog that occupied her mind. She opened her closet for clean clothes and went to the shower.
When Pidge finds Lance's second word, it's just sitting on her computer's keyboard. She wondered how he found the right timing to enter her room when she was just gone to the bathroom for only twenty seconds.
Part of her mind was wondering why Lance started this little game in the first place. She was trying not to dig too much. After all, he probably wanted to tease her or compliment her without saying it out loud in front of everyone. However, Lance wasn't afraid to say what he thought, so it wasn't very logical. But again, when it concerned Lance, Pidge had long since stopped looking for some logic in his actions.
Shrugging, she took the piece of paper and unfolded it to read under the white light of her computer screen. There are a few more digits than the first letter, but Pidge could easily decipher it.
"You are the smartest girl in the universe, and even Slav with his crazy probabilities doesn't equal you."
This sentence snatched a chuckle when she thought back to the alien with many legs obsessed by the percentages and realities. She already imagined Slav to say that the probabilities that she was the smartest of this reality were 6.18% or something.
She put the word on the side of her computer and continued to decrypt other Galra codes they had obtained during their last mission. She tried to fight the smile that contracted her lips each time she thought back to the compliment written on the paper. Because she knew very well that she was the smartest. So why this simple fact, truthful, uttered by the Cuban gave her a balm to the heart ?
Pidge jumped as she felt her body lean in the air.
"What the - ?!” She let go before she regained consciousness.
At the sight of the dark room, her character Killbot Phantasm II who was still waiting for her order to attack the enemy, and the net of drool on her chin that she wiped with her sleeve, she fell asleep during the game part.
A glance at the room told her that Lance was no longer with her. A glance at her controller next to her and another glance at the game screen also confirmed that his character had been shot down and was no longer in the running. He was certainly going to stretch his legs in the alleys of the castle or talk to Hunk to not disturb her during her sleep...
The gamer ran a hand through her hair, sighing.
Damn, she didn't even know what time it was.... Not that it mattered when you were in space but Pidge always liked having a temporal landmark no matter where she was.
She then plunged her hand into the hip pocket of her sweatshirt and that's how she finds another piece of leaf.
Lance's third word, she realized, looking at numbers 1 and 0 aligning on the paper.
Because of the dark room despite the powerful light of the game screen that broadcast its battle theme loop, she had to bend and squint to decipher the sentence.
"If we were in a video game, I would give all my lives for you."
Pidge chuckled again as her stomach leaped. She still thought Lance's flirtatious sentences were awful, but that was easily one of her worst.
How could he imagine taking this sentence to a girl and hoping she falls for that ? It was really terrible but inexplicably, the more Pidge was reading the sentence, and the better she found that line. Even if she would never admit it aloud, let alone before him.
When she meets Lance or spends time with him, he doesn't talk to her at all about these little words. She either, however. It's a small, unspoken game that runs only between them and Pidge intends to leave things as they are. And then, if she was honest with herself, Pidge appreciated her little words that made her laugh and gave her electric shocks in her stomach.
Lance's fourth word she finds is stuck under her glass of pinkish liquid. It was not nunvil but it had a sweet and sparkling taste that was close to lemonade according to Hunk. She waits for everyone to turn to Hunk who was still in the kitchen and put the plates to the table with the help of Allura and Koran to silently take his piece of paper.
When she glances at Lance, who's sitting next to her, he laughs at a joke that Keith said. When she briefly crosses his eyes, he immediately turns away but she thinks discerning a slight and brief contraction on his lips.
She lowers her eyes to the registered binary numbers and can read the sentence as if her own eyes had a translation program embedded in her retina.
"If we were on a chess board, you'd be the Queen and I'd be your Bishop."
Pidge does her best to giggle discreetly but when her teammates ask her what makes her laugh, she secretly slips the piece of paper into the pocket of her shorts, lifts her head up and says "Nothing”, and she immediately throws another topic of conversation for diversion.
During the rest of the meal, the Voltron team's brain does her best to not look in the direction of Lance because she knows she's going to blush, just as she doesn't know that Cuban is right and strategically occupies the place of the Bishop at Chess.
The fifth folded paper she finds is placed on the cockpit seat of her Lion. The first question she asks is how Lance did to enter her Lion. A buzzing sound in the back of her head answered to her immediately.
Pidge sighed as she took the sheet and sat down in her chair.
"You really had to let him go up ?"
A growl was heard again and the green paladin pursed her lips.
"What do you mean, "you couldn't resist his puppy eyes"...?"
Like lion, like paladin, whispered her animal in a purr.
"What's it supposed to mean ?” She mumbled, annoyed.
The green lion laughed but she pretended not to hear it. Instead, the brunette looked down at the letter and unfolded it at the same time Green lit spots of light in the cabin so she could read the word. Pidge mentally thanked her and began to decipher the binary numbers, some of which were broken. It was strange that this was the first letter with ruled numbers. Maybe he had hurried just before their mission to write his word, run to the shed of the green lion, and put it down quietly without anyone paying attention to him ?
A dobosh later, she was able to read the message clearly.
"I went from one leg to one arm of Voltron, which is a totally cool promotion. Because I feel like I'm worth someth to be at the same level as you, now."
A small smile began to stretch her lips but evaporated quickly as she frowned, puzzled.
At first reading, Lance seemed content and proud. But even though Pidge was not really good at human relations, she wasn't stupid. He had clearly meant that it was worth something now, as if he wasn't in his place when he was a leg of Voltron or the Blue Paladin. However, when she observed cuban, he didn't seem to show any harm or insecurity. He was always in a good mood and always had a smile on his face. It was strange and she knew she had to do something for him, but she didn't know how to do it. She was not good at speeches, let alone at comforting others.
A roar echoed inside her brain, and she blinked to regain consciousness.
"Uh, yeah, you're right. I'll think about that later. We'd better go before they ask questions."
But before leaving, she had to put her letter safe. If she left it at her feet, she would have had trouble concentrating because the piece of paper would flutter in all directions when she made aerial rolls. She wondered if her lion had a glove box. It could be handy for storing objects or DIY tools...
Green had to read in her thoughts as a thud was heard on her right and the brunette leaned over her armrest to see a small hatch lit by light-emitting diodes had opened under her long dashboard.
"Perfect.” She smiled as she approached the glove box to stuff Lance's word and close the flapper. "Thank you, girl."
Pidge straightened and tapped the dashboard twice.
"Come on, finish the distractions. Let's join the others.” She said, sitting down.
She activated the opening of her shed with a few buttons and moved her controls. Her lion propelled itself gently into space just beside the castle to join the other colorful lions. As she approached them, her communication radio sizzled and Lance's voice echoed in her cabin.
"Pidge, what were you doing ?” He wanted to know about a false tone of reproach.
The green paladin contracted her jaw and frowned. The bastard. He knew perfectly well why she was falling behind.
"I was doing the last checks.” She answered in a serious voice.
"Everything is fine ?” Asked Hunk and Shiro, worried.
"Yes. Everything is operational. We could go there."
She stepped forward and when she saw a piece of the red lion's carcass in her field of vision, she instinctively moved out of line to get up to it.
She noticed that the head of the mechanical animal moved slightly to look in her direction. She ignored the faint electric shock that her stomach had suffered and tried with all her strength to not to imagine Lance smiling softly in gratitude in her own cockpit. She didn't know if her intuition about his insecurities was real or not, but if that little gesture could make Lance feel better, then she would fly more often by his side.
The next word of the blue paladin written in binary number she gets is when she enters her room. Her day had been exhausting and she didn't even have the strength to take off her clothes to change into pajamas.
Pidge lets herself fall head first into her pillow and moan tired. The softness of the sheets immediately soothes her sore muscles and she even considers to not to slip under the covers to sleep like that.
As her mind began to relax and she was about to fall into the night sleep cycle, she felt a weight land next to her face. Opening an eyelid, she finds that it was one of her little space caterpillars, the blue one, with the soft fur that she had recovered in the nebula of garbage.
His little cyan whiskers flash as a squeak is heard.
"What...? I don't have the strength to go get something to eat in the kitchen..." She mumbled.
Another little cry answered her and she lazily followed the creature with her one eye open -the other eye being buried in her cushion. When she saw that her fluffy alien was hovering over her nightstand, she noticed that the second space caterpillar, the green one, was gently pushing something on the edge of the cabinet.
"What's the matter... ?” She breathed, straightening up on her palms.
She changed position and sat down, one leg folded under her while the other hung out of bed. She quickly lit her little garland of bulbs hanging from her wall and looked at what her pet wanted to show her.
A small sheet of paper was on her nightstand cluttered with bolts and scrap pieces waiting to be used for her invention.
Pidge sighed, rubbing her eye with one hand while the other reached for Lance's sixth word. The two creatures approached her and hovered at the height of her arms, curious about the content of the message. She was puzzled that space aliens could understand binary numbers, but that doesn't really matter anyways.
The sentence of the blue paladin said :
"I always thought you were just a little gremlin but you're more than that, actually. You're a cute little gremlin."
"Thanks for the precision, I like it !” She scoffed alone.
Despite her sarcastic comment, the brown-headed couldn't help but feel tingling at the base of her neck. Because Lance, the womanizer, the lover-boy, who was attracted only by large, beautiful and fine women, had just made her a compliment on her appearance. Not on her intelligence. Not on her computer skills. But on her physique. To her. Pidge. The nerd who looked like a boy.
It was something the genius was not used to, but this compliment, certainly disguised, made her truly happy. Damn, Lance really had the gift of wavering her opinion about him. For a moment, she thought he was just an annoying partner, and the next moment, she felt a deep affection for him. It was annoying but Pidge couldn't do anything against this contradiction that was blooming in her heart.
She blinked and came to her senses as she heard a wrinkling of paper.
One of the little critters, the green one, tried to nibble a corner of the leaf but Pidge reacted quickly. She turned her bust aside to pull her arms away from the ball of hair.
"Hey, don't eat that.” She whispered softly.
A sad squeak answered her but she ignored him to rest the little word in the middle of her detritus strewn her bedside table.
"Come on, it's time to sleep, now.” She said with a smile.
The hacker caressed her soft-skinned aliens, wishing them a good night, and lay down again, this time, under her blankets.
However, while she was expecting to fall asleep quickly, Lance's written sentence kept pulsating in her temples. She curses cuban to disrupt her sleep and to inflict heart palpitations as embarrassing as warm.
Pidge sits quietly on one of the empty couch couches, her computer comfortably seated on her lap, and types in the data she has collected from a Galra ship in the castle files.
Frowning, her fingers travel efficiently and quickly her keyboard. When she approaches her screen to focus better, she feels something annoying her back. She rubs against the back of the couch to soothe her itch but when she leans back to her laptop, she still feels tingling.
Blowing with annoyance, Pidge squirms to put a hand in her back and scratch the part that irritates her. She feels something firm and even thinks she's creasing.
Mumbling a hypothesis about catching an alien disease or perhaps something foul in the last jungle they had explored, she quickly removes her sweatshirt by twisting her upper body and moving the arms. Once her sweater pulled in a sigh of ease, this is where a piece of paper twirls in the air before falling suddenly to her feet.
She gets rid of her sweater and places it in a ball next to her and does the same with her computer. She then leans over to pick up the piece of paper with her fingertips.
Another word from Lance. The seventh.
No wait, more worrying : how did he manage to slip it between her sweatshirt and her tank-top without her noticing ?!
When she opened it, she noticed that it was the longest message in binary numbers she had had so far. After a solid moment, Pidge manages to decipher the long sentence and can not help but chuckle :
"Your freckles that emerge in the moonlight are adorable and if I wasn't afraid that you can kick my ass, I would have already drawn constellations on your skin with an indelible marker."
She notices that her cheeks heat up gradually and does her best to ignore this detail that gave her chills.
Oh, if Lance had really done that, she would take revenge without hesitation. Maybe by drawing a Coran's mustache on his face. And she would add a monocle around one of her eyelids. Maybe even a little star on her cheekbone to look prettier, she thought before tilting her head to the side. Or altean marks to make him believe that he had hidden and unsuspected origins.
Yeah, that could be a good joke to do. She put the idea in a corner of her brain and looked down at the piece of paper again in her hands.
Re-reading the compliment he had made, she bit her lower lip to prevent a wide, freaking smile from taking possession of her face. Because if someone entered the hall and saw her like that, she was sure to pass an interrogation she really did not want to have.
She takes an inspiration to recompose herself mentally and massages her cheeks to remove the colors that had clung to her face. She hides Lance's word in the clutter of her garment, pulls her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose, and goes back to work .
It was her turn to milk Kaltenecker.
And even though Pidge didn't really like this kind of activity and she was much more comfortable on her keyboard, she knew she had to do it. Then she had gone to the castle hall, which was sheltering their cow, caressing the animal, and bending over to grab the iron bucket.
Standing, the container between her hands, it was there that she had discovered the eighth piece of folded paper at the bottom of the seal. She stared at it for several seconds. At least, she could recognize was that Lance showed interesting imagination when he put his little words...
Sighing, the hacker sat on the stool and pulled out the piece of paper while placing the seal next to her foot. Seconds later, she managed to decipher the sentence of her team-mate.
"A billion sunsets happen everyday but I prefer to look at your eyes. It's like having a walking sunset by my side."
She felt her cheeks burn again and much faster than last time. The embarrassment was hard to bear, and she couldn't help coughing the laughter that bubbled through her chest to cover her embarrassment.
"What is that ?” She asked.
As if she had asked her cow, Kaltenecker mumbled as an answer. Pidge raised her chin and looked at the herbivore, tilting her head to one side.
"Do you think my eyes look like a sunset ?"
"Mooo !”
Pidge frowned, puzzled. She didn't really know if it was positive or negative. She fiddled with the piece of paper between her fingers as the animal lowered her head to pull some grass from her legs. After thinking for a moment, she moistened her lips and spoke to Kaltenecker.
"Hey, does Lance ever tell you about me when he comes to visit you ?"
The cuban might not be talking to the rest of the team about his little private concerns, but he could very well talk to their cow. One day, when she was moving in the halls of the castle and had passed by Kaltenecker's door, she had heard the young man speak to her. And she was sure Hunk was not with him this time. So that could be likely...
The animal raised her neck and chewed loudly, staring at the brunette wearily. Pidge waited several seconds for Kaltenecker to answer but no sound came out of her mouth. There was only her tail swaying nonchalantly from right to left, and for the little computer genius, it was not enough for her to see any information.
"I can't understand you if you don't say anything, you know ?” She continued with a clumsy smile.
"Moooo !"
"Moooo "yes" or Moooo "no" ?” The Green Paladin insisted.
This time, Kaltenecker bellowed slightly louder and Pidge sighed, defeated.
She wasn't going to make it. How was she supposed to discern the differences between the mooing of the animal ? How was Lance doing to understand it ? Maybe he understood nothing too but just pretended ? Unless he was only interpreting and taking answers that suited him ?
Pidge lowered her head and re-read his friend's word. She couldn't help but smile knowing that he had remembered what she had said about the appearance of sunsets. He was paying attention to what she was saying, and for the hacker she couldn't be happier paying attention to his words.
The noise of Kaltenecker, who was ruminating loudly, took Pidge out of her thoughts. She saw that one of her cow's ears had a slight spasm and her tail swayed again in the air. The brunette put her piece of paper in the pocket of her sweatshirt and approached the animal pulling her stool and seal.
"Okay okay, I stop daydreaming and I'll milk you right now, okay ?” She announced as she raised a hand to pat the side of the herbivore.
"Mooo !"
"I... will take this for a yes, ok ?” She said as she stroked her coat again.
Kaltenecker mumbled again for approval, at last, what Pidge supposed to be an endorsement, or even plainly a "It was time !". She rolled up her sleeves, leaned close to the cow's nipples, and began her work.
"A walking sunset..." She retorted aloud after a few minutes.
She let out a soft amused laugh as her heart leaped a few beats. What adorkable guy, really...
Lance's next word she receives is conveyed by Kosmo, along with one of their meals as they travel through space. The now-red-paladin had to slip the word into a fold of the sandwich's wrapper before giving instructions to the cosmic wolf to teleport to the Green Lion's cockpit.
A corner of her mind wondered how Lance had done to quietly write an umpteenth word without Romelle and her curiosity discovering their little secret game. She should ask him someday...
She smiled as she unwrapped her meal and took the piece of paper to read it.
"Thank you for simplifying your explanations on technology and science. It means a lot to me."
They were not kind of rowdy flirtations or compliments. This time it was just thanks from him.
She remembered that in the beginning, Lance was quickly annoyed by her scientific gibberish and that she was upset and shut up like an oyster. But he seems to have stepped back and become more patient when explaining the information.
As she thought about it, Pidge realized that each person was different and didn't necessarily see things the same way as she did. So she decided to simplify her scientific jargon for him. Since she did that, he understood the situations much better and could follow their conversations fairly, sometimes even giving his own advice. She sincerely appreciated that he did his best to invest in topics that weren't really his forte.
Rereading the sentence again, a soft smile spread her lips, as a sense of gratitude spread inside her.
"Well, you're welcome."
The hacker had spoken aloud and when she understood the mistake she had made, it suddenly triggered a wave of interrogation from her teammates on the radio communication line that made her a brief stroke of juice.
"What ?” Allura's voice asked immediately.
"What did you say, Pidge ?” Then asked Shiro's confused voice.
"I think she said "you're welcome”.” Keith continued in a calm voice but in which she could feel a hint of worry.
"Why Number 5 would say that ?” Coran wanted to know, and Pige was almost certain that he was twisting his mustache like a detective.
"That's right, we didn't say anything, though.” Affirmed Romelle.
"Did you detect anything in the vicinity ? A signal, maybe ?” Krolia assumed in a professional tone.
"Are you okay, Pidge ?” Hunk asked.
"It's nothing !” Reassured the hacker. "I'm fine, I... was talking to myself."
She realized that her excuse, as well as her voice, didn't come out as confident as she would have liked.
"Oh my God ! Pidge already loses her mind ! And it's only been two months since we left ! That's it, we're screwed !” Panicked Hunk immediately.
"No ! I didn't lose my mind !” Retorted Pidge, frowning.
"Calm down, buddy.” Lance's voice intervened. "I'm sure she's fine. She would have immediately told us if something was wrong. It happens to everyone to talk to oneself. She certainly had a lot of thoughts and her brain had to want to expel some of it."
"Hey !” She reprimanded right away. "In case you don't know it yet, my brain is able to store thousands of information !”
Lance had the nerve to laugh and Pige cursed her stomach to make a jump, immediately putting this reaction on the count of hunger and not on anything else. The cuban apologized in a voice that didn't reflect his guilt at all, and even though he couldn't see her, she pouted.
After that, the conversation between the team members drifted to other topics but the green paladin wasn't really listening anymore. She preferred to sigh by putting Lance's word on her tray to bite into her oddly sweet sandwich.
After that, she no longer receives a coded word from Lance. With the critical situation on Earth, their battle against Sendak, the titanic clash against the unknown robot and his recovery in his garrison hospital room, she does not have much time to think about that anymore.
It's when her big brother finds a new piece of paper by putting back her cushions that this small and delicate attention crosses her spirit again. She thinks it's the tenth word from Lance but with all the recent events, she's not really sure anymore.
She takes the piece of paper that Matt hands her and opens it. This time, there weren't many numbers :
“1001001
1001100 – 1001111 – 1010110 – 1000101
1011001 – 1001111 – 1010101”
It was a very short sentence. A very short sentence, certainly, but that left her literally speechless. The blood was pulsing so hard inside her temples that she could not even hear Matt's voice calling her.
"I love you"
That's what Lance's word said.
But it was impossible. Isn't it ? He had written her lines of flirtation and compliments, but... from there to tell him that. No, no, he had certainly made a mistake of typography. Yes that's it. It was a fault. Or the sentence was not complete. He may have missed enough time to write the rest. Like, “I like you”, or like, “I like your...” and then something ?
"Pidge ? What's this ?” Her big brother asked, forcing her out of her thoughts.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, Matt leaned over her shoulder to see what was blocking his little sister but the hacker immediately closed the paper so he couldn't see. Unfortunately, it was too late. The rebel had already seen some numbers.
"Hey, it was binary numbers, right ? What does it say ?” He wanted to know.
Frowning, Pidge stared at him for a moment and, no longer holding it, she stuffed the paper into her brother's belly.
"Here. Can I have your opinion ? It comes from Lance.” She said quickly before crossing her arms and tapping her index finger anxiously in the crook of her elbow.
Matt took the paper in his hands, read it in silence, and widened his eyes after several seconds.
"This- it's the first time he's writing you a word ? Or did he give you others with sentences written on it ?” He questioned, stunned.
"He gave me others. Somes, I have not really counted..." She lied.
"The others said what ?"
"It was little jokes, compliments..." She evaded, shrugged.
Matt hummed as an answer. But his brother couldn't keep his seriousness long, since his face lit up and a fucking grin that immediately annoyed the hacker took possession of his lips.
"Awww ! It's so cute, he loves you !!” He sang.
Pidge frowned and gave him a heavy blow on the shoulder. The rebel moaned and automatically carried his other hand to ease the pain. He quickly resumed his serious despite a small smile wedge still adorned his lips.
"Joking aside, I think it's downright adorable. Who wrote a love confession on paper, and in binary number moreover ? He really needs to love you to do that."
"Shut up.” She grumbled, rubbing her eyes behind her glasses.
"No, I'm serious Pidge. It is something of sought. I mean, he could have summoned you to speak alone and then tell you how he feels. That's the way things happen in normal times.”
"With what happened a few years ago, we are no longer in normal times, Matt."
"I know, but you understand what I mean."
She dropped her hands and put her glasses up correctly on her nose.
"Yes" She sighed. "He made the effort to write lots of words with a coding that I would be able to decipher. He knew I liked that kind of nerdy stuff. I'm sure he has had so much trouble with the numbers.” She said, sneering at the thought. "Because let's be honest, he's not the nerdy guy at all who loves to learn science. But he still did it. For me. It shows that he does his best to be interested in things I love but..."
When Pidge intentionally cut her sentence, Matt tilted his head to one side.
"But...?” He cheered softly, arms crossed.
She bit her bottom lip and finally sighed, leaning her head back to rest against her cushions, annoyed by her train of thoughts.
"I dunno. And if it was a typo error, after all ? I don't want to create false hopes or pass for an idiot by asking him."
In front of his sister's amber eyes that reflected a certain apprehension, Matt smiled encouragingly and put a firm yet gentle hand on her shoulder.
"If you want to be 100% sure, talk to him. Whether it is an error or not, only he can tell you the truth.” He advised, giving back her word.
Pidge picked it up and looked down at the piece of paper. After a few tics, she nodded a brief movement followed by a little "Ok".
"Trust me, Pidge. I have an extraterrestrial girlfriend now, I know what I'm talking about.” Matt swanked, crossing his arms and bending his chest.
"By the way, we really need to talk about this, because I still can't believe that you – ”
Two knocks at the door of her room interrupted their conversation and attracted their attention. The door slid open and a brown head appeared in the frame. Pidge's brain short-circuited immediately before reconnecting.
It was Lance.
Dressed in the T-shirt and orange and white pajama pants from the Galactic Garrison Hospital. Curiously, he wore gray and orange slippers, not those with the effigy of the blue lion.
"Hi, you two !” He said lightly as he entered the room.
Pidge stammered a "Hey" while Matt waved him with a wave of his hand before turning to her, leaning slightly, arms crossed, a smirk and the shining look that clearly said "when we talk about the wolf... ". It irritated Pidge, who frowned and hit him again in the arm.
"Ah ! Stop that ! I'm going to have a bruised because of you !” He rasped.
"You asked for.” She retorted.
Matt, despite his frowning brow, let out a small laugh in front of the embarrassed look of his sister.
"Well, I'm going to leave.” He announced, standing up.
"What ? But..." Lance said blinking. "I didn't hunt you, you know !"
"You don't chase me, don't worry.” Smiled the rebel before looking at Pidge. "I'll take the opportunity to see how our parents are and if they need a hand."
"Tell them I'm fine. And do a big hug to Bae Bae if you see him, I think one of the officers went for a walk."
"Count on me.” He acquiesced.
With a smile and a thumbs-up, Matt crossed the room and left, closing the door behind him. Once alone, Lance turned her attention to her and approached her bed with a soft smile.
"So, is everything okay ?"
"Yes. The nurses removed my IVs so I can move my arms more freely.” She explained, gesticulating her limbs in every direction.
Her idiotic action made the young man laugh. However, she didn't miss the quick glance that he slipped towards the big pillows behind her back, thinking he was discreet. She kept her face impassive and continued the discussion.
"And you ? If you can walk without your pocket of hydration on wheels, I guess you're feel better ?” She guessed, arching an eyebrow.
"Oh yes !” He sighed with relief as he put a hand to his chest. "If you knew how it irrated me...! The thread kept getting tangled in my legs or hanging out on the floor ! When I went to the bathroom, it was so much trouble ! How can people who stay for weeks in the hospital cope with this ?"
Lance's complaints made her smile and a teasing look formed on her face.
"You know there were hooks on the bar to hang the wire, huh ?” She asked, arching a questioning eyebrow.
"I know but the thread didn't hold on ! He was just falling !” He said, raising his arms to the sky.
She shook her head in amusement. From there, she couldn't stop the red paladin anymore. A real windbag. He kept talking about their other crew members and how they were doing. He was talking about the people who had visited him, the jokes his brothers and sisters told him, the nonsense his nephew and niece had done in his absence.
Pidge listened without really hearing what he was saying, simply answering "yes" or punctual nods. She felt her palms sweat as the seconds passed. The more time passed, the more she dreaded the moment when she should ask him for confession. But Pidge was not a coward and she had to know. It doesn't matter the consequences. She clenched her fist for the last time, which contained Lance's word and hurled herself.
"Lance, sorry to cut you off, but can I ask you something ?” She asked in a quick but firm tone.
The young man blinked, amazed by the seriousness of his friend's eyes.
"Uh, yeah, of course. Go ahead."
Gently, silently, -and perhaps a little shaking, she opened her hand to unfold the crumpled piece of paper and show it to him.
"About this little word... I would like to know if you have made a mistake or if there are missing words."
"What ?!” He exclaimed as the muscles of his shoulders tensed.
"What you wrote to me... Is there a fault or the sentence is incomplete ?"
Her serious tone calmed the cuban, who relaxed immediately and gave a quick glance at the paper she presented him. He no longer dared to look into her eyes, looked sometimes at his letter, sometimes on the white sheets under which her legs were cross-legged, and sometimes on his gray and orange slippers loaned by the Garrison.
A heavy silence was floating between them, and Pidge was certain that her face had taken on color, just like Lance, whose skin looked slightly darker than a moment ago. Her heart pounding, she swallowed discreetly and waited for an answer from him.
The moment was getting more and more uncomfortable, and Pidge considered dropping everything to tell him to forget what had happened, but Lance finally reacted. He ran a hand through his short hair, scratched his ear with his other hand, cleared his throat, and finally raised his two blue orbs towards her.
"I... There's no fault and the sentence is complete, Pidge. I really wanted to say what I wrote.” He confessed calmly.
"Oh." Just answered the green paladin.
She felt her blood pressure deflate slightly. She didn't know what to answer. She was sure he was going to confirm his suspicions lightly. After a disturbing muteness where the two didn't utter the least word, let alone look in the eyes, Lance finally threw herself into the water by raising her voice, which startle the brown-headed.
"I... I mean...! You're great, Pidge ! Whatever the situation we are in, you're quick to bounce back. You are smart, strong, you are thirsty to learn, and you are overflowing with confidence in yourself. You are not afraid to go for it and you do everything to reach your goal. I love spending time with you, whether talking, joking or playing video games. It's like it's natural, you see ?"
Despite her pink cheekbones, she smiled softly, almost amused to see Lance embarrassed to face her. Inwardly, her heart was pounding in her chest and her stomach was looping.
"With you, I feel like myself.” Lance continued. "I don't have to show off to impress you. Well, for the little that I impress you... And then you're always in my delirium when I want to do silly things instead of rejecting my ideas. You do not hesitate to be frank, even if I admit that sometimes, it hurts. When you are with me, there are times when I feel like we are on the same wavelength, like when we synchronize with our lions, and... and I feel happy. As if being with you meant being at home..."
At this moment, the hacker gasped while holding a hand to her heart, her eyes narrowed, and tightened her grip on Lance's word in her fist. Heat and affection bubbled inside her. Because she too, when she was with Lance, the feeling of being at home was omnipresent. It was a constant that floated between them as they spent time together or bickering nicely. It was a strong feeling. And it was wonderfully reciprocal.
"Pidge ? You're okay ?” Lance's voice asked, pulling her down to Earth.
She blinked and saw that the young man had a hand outstretched towards her, looking hesitant, and also had a worried glimmer in his eyes.
"Yeah, I..."
Her shoulders sagged. She closed her eyelids and took a deep breath through her nose. She re-opened her eyes and she crossed the two blue orbs of her friend. He tensed at seeing the determined glow that shone in it.
She opened her mouth and finally spoke :
“1001001
1001100 – 1001111 – 1010110 – 1000101
1011001 – 1001111 – 1010101
1000001 – 1001111 – 1001111”
Once her long tirade of numbers listed, Pidge caught her breath while the face that Lance makes is hilarious. But the brunette pinches her lips to avoid giggling and details him : Open-mouthed, eyebrows so lifted that they virtually touch his little locks of hair on his forehead, the poor is downright dropped.
"What ?” He let out stupidly.
He blinked, seeming to be back on Earth, and raised his hands in front of him, closing his eyelids, a crease on his forehead.
"Wait, wait, wait. You just answered me from memory ?"
In front of the shocked but impressed look of the young man, Pidge couldn't help but smile proudly.
"Yes."
"Quiznack, you're really an amazing girl.” He breathed.
Pidge laughed as her chest swelled with gratitude and her cheeks tingled.
"I know."
"Wait, shit, can you repeat the numbers ?” He asked, pulling out a small card -certainly his picture to translate the binary numbers into letters. "I didn't remember..."
The sheepish face of the cuban made Pidge smile again, rolling her eyes, tilting her head to the side. He had worked hard to write all these little words in binary numbers, so she decided to abbreviate his suffering by telling him her answer aloud.
"I love you too, Lance."
Pidge was certain that the young man's stunned face would remain engraved in her mind. His mouth is wide open, his redness spreads all over his cheeks, his beautiful blue eyes staring at her as if she had just had a second head, and his long arms hang down his body like spaghetti...
Lance shooked Pidge when he started in a tiny scream. But she doesn't have time to ask him what he had since he crouched on the spot, his face in his hands, and moaned for a long time.
"I didn't plan that..." He mumbled.
She was no longer able to see his expression, but the sight of his red ears was enough to know he was still embarrassed.
"You should leave the math to me, Lance. Because it's my thing.” She said with a teasing smile before tapping the corner of her head with her index finger. "Remember ?”
The cuban lowered his hands to the bottom of his face to raise a fearful look at her, then a second later, he hid his face again and murmured incomprehensible words in Pidge's ears. He seemed to hear Keith's name in the middle of it all, but she wasn't very sure so she dropped it.
When Lance looked up to look at the brunette again, she noticed that he was still a little red. Pidge's face was probably not much better. Now that she felt that her face was gaining several degrees of temperature, she tried to control the discomfort that was eating her from the inside.
"Can I have a hug ?” He asked shyly.
Pidge's eyes widened as her heart missed a beat. For a moment, she thought he was going to ask him if he could have a kiss... She might be better off to not making a comment, she already saw him joking that he could arrange it. Although the idea was very tempting, the rational part of Pidge didn't want their first kiss to be interrupted by someone who could enter her room at any time.
Then the hacker swallowed and nodded. The look elsewhere, the young man straightened up and leaned silently towards her to gently hug her by the shoulders. She automatically raised her arms to grab his shoulder blades and plunge her nose into his collarbone.
He kept an arm around her shoulders and then gently passed a hand in her neck, touching her hair with the utmost care. It made the little genie shudder from head to toe, and she bit her lower lip to avoid open sighs of contentment.
Instead, Pidge tightened her hold around his body and rested her ear above his chest. Given the leaning position of Lance, it wasn't exactly the place of his heart, but she could feel it beating really fast. It wasn't a bad thing, she thought. Because her heart was also beating at an infernal pace.
She heard him exhale and her stomach still made two or three improvised loops. The two paladins took advantage of the physical contact silently. The brunette moistened her lips and swallowed in the hope of finding the countenance in her voice.
"I really appreciated your little words. They were... inventive. And cute. They made me laugh more than I would have imagined."
"Glad you liked it. I worked a lot on it. "
Pidge buzzed before raising a questioning eyebrow he couldn't see.
"But reassure me..." She began. "...you will not doing your proposal by writing binary numbers on a simple sheet or a stupid big streamer, right ?"
The hacker felt Lance freeze briefly against her and release the pressure two seconds later.
"Heh, of course not. I will do a route and you will have to decipher quantum data to find clues and my location where I will wait for you to make my proposal.” He joked, a smile in his voice.
Pidge laughed and snuggled her nose in Lance's tee-shirt. Yes, there was no doubt : Here, in the arms of cuban with whom she had shared many things, she felt really good. And she didn't intend to stop there. They still had plenty of adventures to live together.